BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Blue and gold light swallowed the heavens completely.
The collision between the giant azure sword phantom and the descending heavenly beam erupted with enough force to shake the entire Upper Sky Region.
The battlefield vanished beneath blinding radiance.
Mountains cracked.
Formation barriers shattered one after another.
Even the silver heavens themselves trembled violently.
Lin Feng felt overwhelming pressure slam into his body from every direction.
His meridians burned.
Blood surged through his veins uncontrollably.
Yet despite the pain
his eyes remained fixed upward.
The giant azure sword phantom stood behind him silently.
Ancient.
Immense.
Its translucent blade stretched across the heavens themselves while endless blue sword qi flowed around it like rivers.
For the first time
fear appeared within the Heavenly Eye.
Only briefly.
But it was enough.
Xu Tian's pupils contracted sharply.
"…So it truly exists."
The giant Voidborn screamed furiously.
"Impossible!"
"The Azure Path was erased!"
The phantom sword suddenly moved.
Slowly.
It tilted upward toward the descending heavenly hand.
Then
it slashed.
SHIIIIIIIIING!!
The heavens split apart.
A massive line of blue light crossed the battlefield instantly.
The giant golden hand trembled violently.
Then
one finger separated cleanly from the hand itself.
Golden blood rained from the sky.
Silence consumed the battlefield.
Even the Bone Saints stopped moving.
Because the heavenly hand…
had been severed.
The Heavenly Eye trembled violently.
The voice across heaven and earth finally lost its calm indifference.
"Azure…"
Hatred.
Cold.
Ancient hatred.
The severed golden finger dissolved into countless particles of light before reforming rapidly.
But the Heavenly Hand no longer descended recklessly.
Instead
it paused.
Watching the azure sword phantom carefully.
As if remembering something terrifying.
Lin Feng's breathing became unstable.
The phantom sword behind him consumed enormous amounts of energy every second.
His Azure Core rotated violently.
Cracks even began appearing across parts of his meridians.
He was too weak.
Far too weak to sustain this power properly.
Xu Tian immediately noticed.
His expression sharpened.
"Do not force it."
Lin Feng gritted his teeth silently.
It was not something he could simply stop.
The Azure Core had completely lost stability.
Ancient memories and emotions continued flooding through his mind endlessly.
War.
Blood.
Shattered skies.
Golden figures falling beneath azure sword light.
Then
a throne suspended above endless darkness.
And upon it
a figure chained by countless golden laws.
The man slowly raised his head.
His face…
was identical to Lin Feng's.
The memory vanished instantly.
Lin Feng staggered slightly.
His heartbeat thundered violently.
What exactly was the Azure Sovereign?
A predecessor?
A bloodline ancestor?
Or
something far worse?
The Heavenly Voice echoed again.
"You carry forbidden inheritance."
The giant hand slowly clenched.
Golden chains appeared throughout the heavens.
Thousands of them.
Each larger than mountains.
The moment they emerged
the azure sword phantom trembled slightly.
Xu Tian's expression darkened instantly.
"Heaven-Sealing Chains…"
Commander Yue's face became pale.
"They're using ancient laws already?!"
The chains descended rapidly toward Lin Feng.
Every cultivator nearby immediately felt their spiritual energy weaken.
Even Xu Tian's sword intent became slightly unstable.
The chains were suppressing the world itself.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.
The Azure Sword vibrated violently in his hand.
Then
the furious voice inside his soul roared once more.
"Cut them."
Lin Feng inhaled sharply.
Azure Sword Art.
Not the ordinary techniques he learned within the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Something deeper.
Something hidden within the Azure Core itself.
Instinctively
he raised the sword.
Blue light gathered around the blade endlessly.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged toward him like a storm.
Xu Tian's eyes sharpened instantly.
Because Lin Feng's sword posture had changed completely.
Ancient.
Perfect.
As if another swordsman stood there temporarily through him.
Lin Feng stepped forward.
Then
he slashed upward.
Azure Sword Art
"Sky Burial."
SHIIIIIIIIING!!,
A line of blue light ascended through the heavens.
Simple.
Yet absolute.
The descending golden chains trembled violently.
Then
they shattered.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Fragments of golden law exploded across the battlefield like falling stars.
Shock spread throughout the city.
Even Xu Tian remained silent briefly.
Because the attack Lin Feng just used…
did not belong to someone at his cultivation level.
The Heavenly Eye darkened slightly.
"Impossible."
For the first time
genuine killing intent descended from the heavens.
The silver sky began collapsing around the giant eye itself.
The surrounding space cracked endlessly.
Xu Tian's expression changed immediately.
"It's descending further."
Commander Yue turned pale.
"If it fully manifests"
"The Upper Sky Region will collapse."
The giant Voidborn laughed madly.
"Let the false world burn!"
Dark mist erupted throughout the battlefield once more.
The fracture widened continuously.
Behind it
the enormous Gate Lord moved again.
This time
part of its head became visible.
A giant skeletal face covered in black stone armor.
Its empty eye sockets burned with dark crimson flames.
The moment it appeared
countless cultivators lost consciousness instantly.
The pressure was too overwhelming.
Lin Feng felt his Azure Core pulse violently again.
The Gate Lord slowly looked toward him.
Then
it knelt.
The entire battlefield froze.
Even the Voidborn became silent.
The Gate Lord lowered its massive head before the azure sword phantom.
Not submission.
Recognition.
Its deep voice echoed throughout heaven and earth.
"Azure King…"
Xu Tian's expression finally changed completely.
King?
Not Sovereign?
Lin Feng's thoughts shook violently.
Before anyone could react further
the Heavenly Voice roared.
"SILENCE."
BOOOOOOOM!!
Golden pressure exploded downward.
The Gate Lord's body cracked instantly beneath the pressure.
Yet it still remained kneeling.
The Heavenly Eye focused entirely upon Lin Feng again.
"This cycle should have ended."
The azure sword phantom behind Lin Feng suddenly pulsed.
Then
for the first time
it moved independently.
Without Lin Feng controlling it.
The giant phantom sword pointed directly toward the Heavenly Eye.
A challenge.
The heavens trembled violently.
Xu Tian inhaled slowly.
"…So the legends were true."
Commander Yue looked toward him sharply.
"What legends?"
Xu Tian's gaze never left the sky.
"In ancient times…"
"…the Azure Sovereign once pointed his sword at heaven itself."
Silence followed.
Then
the Heavenly Eye attacked.
Golden light exploded across the sky like a collapsing sun.
At the same moment
the azure sword phantom slashed upward again.
And the war between heaven and azure truly began.